Turbulence trend: Delta flight forced to make emergency landing

A Delta flight from Atlanta to Chicago had to make an emergency landing in Nashville after hitting turbulence that caused an engine covering to come off.

News outlets report that Delta Flight 762 was flying above Cleveland, Tennessee, on Sunday afternoon when the plane hit turbulence, causing the Boeing 717's engine lights to turn on.

Delta says in a statement that the outermost covering of the plane's right engine, or cowling, had come off.

The plane's crew declared an emergency for priority air traffic control handling to Nashville. Delta says the aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate normally. All 109 customers on board left the plane safely.

Delta says it will investigate the incident.

As the US transitions from winter to spring, severe weather conditions are common. Forecasters say severe storms are likely Monday in parts of the Southern and Great Plains states, with tornadoes and very large hail a possibility in some areas.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, says the greatest risk for bad weather is in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. But forecasters say the storms could stretch into parts of Missouri and western Illinois, where isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out.

In all, about 41 million people from Houston to Des Moines, Iowa, are at risk for some type of stormy weather Monday.

A day earlier, tornadoes, hail and strong winds hit parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, but no major damage was reported.

There have been several recent incidents of turbulence reported by airlines in the US and abroad.

For example, this past Thursday, Pittsburgh-bound flight from Punta Cana had to be diverted to Florida after four crew members and three passengers were injured from unexpected turbulence.

Some passengers were tossed from their seats, and one flight attendant hit her head on the ceiling of the Allegiant Airlines flight on Thursday.

The flight from the Dominican Republic hit the turbulence over the Bahamas, and the plane was diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The airline says the charter flight operated for Apple Vacations had 137 passengers and six crew members.

The Broward County sheriff's office says the injuries weren't life-threatening. The most seriously hurt was a flight attendant who had head injuries.

The airline arranged other flights for the passengers, but some opted to drive home.

Early Saturday, 17 passengers and crew were injured when a Hong Kong Airlines' flight ran into severe turbulence early Saturday on the way from Indonesia's resort Bali island to Hong Kong.

The Airbus A330-200 with 204 passengers and 12 crew returned to Bali about 2 ½ hours into the flight and landed safely at 4:34 a.m. (2034 GMT Friday), said Trikora Harjo, general manager of Bali's Ngurah Rai airport.

The plane encountered the turbulence above Kalimantan, Indonesia's part of Borneo, he said.

Most of the injuries were head bruises and there were no serious cases, Harjo said. Three crewmembers and eight passengers were brought to a hospital while six others were treated at the airport clinic, he said.

He said there was no damage to the plane, but an inspection was underway.

Ninety-five passengers were flown to Hong Kong on board a Garuda Indonesia plane Saturday morning while the rest were waiting at the airport and hotels.

It was the second such incident involving Airbus planes over Indonesian territory.

This past Wednesday, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi ran into sudden turbulence as it prepared to land in the Indonesian capital, injuring 31 passengers and a crew.